Confection coating machine



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 13, 1949 INVEN TOR. (ai W July 24, 1951 E. J. OTKEN CONFECTION COATING MACHINE Filed May 13, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

July 24, 1951 E. J. OTKEN CONFECTION COATING MACHINE s Sheets-Shet :5

Filed May 13, 1949 IHHIIH llllln.

' INVENTOR.

' Patented July 24, 1951 V .v H

; Ire-o rs PAT ENT OFF] r iMAGHINE vEdwin J. Otken, New Brunswick, N. ,J ;,-assignor .to Good Humor- Corporation, Brooklyn, Y.,

acorpora'tion'rdfNew'York k Application May13, Hansen a1 No. 93',11'0

machines 101' confections, .and gparticularly :innol'ves: ;a,.-'.0OnStI'l 10ti0n having igreat .r-adrantages OlZELtIIatiShOWII in the machine of'myxcoepending application-for rpatent Serial :No. 59;3l;5,-:.filed Noremberwl i948. a (The machine hereinrdisclosedcisldesignedaespecially for theocoating :of so-ealledicezcreamtconiections carried by :sticks, "wherebyrrto obtain gneatlyrincreasedaefliciency or rthevmacliineezenabl-ing material "reduction of; :the stime :reqnired for reach. coating ;:qperation, rand n:educing"-:the power consumption reguiredc-foroperation oft-the machine, as avell eas .having @other advantages whichwil-bappear morezfully :hereinaIter.

For a full understanding of my present-imachinelInotexthatiintthetmachine'of :my previous application above identified rtheiie iis 'employed a rotatable .drum .h-avi-ng flights-on ftherzinner peripheral wall thereof for :elevatingfand spilling down the coating material whichrusual lyriconsists .of -granu1ar;nuts-, coconut, ithe'llike; that is required to :be .adhesively applied Jeach' 0f the confections treated in the machine. .In my priormachine ethe confectionsare :suppontedain a holderor raok of a conventional:typeuitilized long heretoiore, which mack nisrgmountedi'nn the drum r soas to rotazte therewithfi 'afiter" thewicdm factions .have been engaged with the; rackeand held thereby. vIntthe operation :of tsaidrqarior machine the drum startednrrinto rotation for each coating -operatien, from astopped nrfrstationary position/byrsupplyingtcurrent tozaesuit able .motor which drives the-.; drum. $Ihezconfec tions supported in. :holderr aretcarried by andflrotated simultaneously =with1thetdrumu. the coating operation isrefiected :byz-the-timning of thedrum+andthe confections-disposeditherein as arunit, .with ,the confections ;dlS pOSedTm the path roof the down-rialling coating." materials handled by :the' drum. -When the drum turned .a number-of revolutions -=according ato rmy previous .machine, means are-provided to cstop thesamertorenablethe removal .of the-gconfections from their mounted connected relation --to-the drumafter .the coating operation has :heen com- .4 Claims. (01. 107-11) pleted. Necessarily, ,since the confections. "are or" previousumachinepthe :drum must :be

vbrought :to ;a, stop r.-suddenly:;in-;order Tlihahithe coating materials will .notzpile-up rand-become appliedrtothe GOIltBEti-ODSiSZBiIIOIl-LUHKOI'HIithlck- 'ness "or manner, :thezapplication dieing obtained .b nteason' 0f the fact that ftheeonfection bodies are sedated with anzadhesive :dip :pr'iorto their introduction into the econnectediarela- 'tion to rotate "with the latter. For the sudden stoppageeof the drum; thereforetthere was'heretofore :employed certain thrake "mechanism to achieve the sudden stoppage r-action :by which the surplus coating material wasthrown' bit-the coniectionrbodieszat rthe termin'ation of the coat- 'ing operation. @IhestartingzandsStopping actions of :-the-:drum necessarily:areztime-losing or consumin-g noperations and '.the machine hereinafter disclosedreliminates this phase; of t action" of my machine :of -m y 'prior application.

r-According to the specificrsconstruction'f of the machine as herein described, his contemplated that -the:eoating drum; :once ."started .into operation, :sha1l--be continued -:in :constant rotation during. the entire peri'od when the'zmachine is infuse. The rotation oi.:the :drum: is effected at a e-relatively high-and :uniform :spee'd'so as to produce ,in this manner azcontinuous turbulent shower of. thecoating materialsuclrzas' granulated nut meats etc. ;at: all 'timesto Tbe'applied to confection bodies. l-In the further- :carrying' out of my present improved construction 'of machine, l-temploy a stationary i supporting "frame at one side-.oftherdrumiadjacent*to'rtheiconfection introducingopeningaof'the latter, 'and'I provide upon saidframe :a carrier-rotatable independently of .thesdrum .for supporting the holderor rack' by which the confections are held" within the drum duringathe :coating fo'peration. Under these conditionsethetconfe'ction' carrier is adapted to be operated entirely independently of the dru nl so that it rmay ':be properly manipulated to be rotated,:likewise independently of the drum, :during' the :continuous rotation of the latter, and. in a direction opposite to the rotation'of the drum, to more iEfiBCtlV-GIY 'obtain the necessary'la pplication ofithe coating material: to *all sides of "the. conic c; tion; .2Moreover, s'inoe='the' drum is continuously rotating, producing the continuous turbulent shower of the nuts therein at "all'timesQ "I .find thatithiszaction un the coating 'material enables thewquick ::mounting of the confection track or holderxupon the rotary carrier whereby tointroduce the confection bodies into the drum, and that,.by approximately .3, :single turn or revolutioneof the rackrsupportediconfection bod-ies,the

4 ing practically a momentary action or operation affording the highly efficient complete functioning of the machine hereof for the reasons herebefore set forth.

In the improved machine herein disclosed, means is provided in the form of a shield or chute for causing coating 'n'iaterial eiegted from the -drum during operation thereof to flow back into the drum. I also provide a novel construction of ,the confection carrier which permits it to be readily demounted from the stationary circular "track upon which the carrier is normally roreduced, the wear and tear, incident to stopping and starting the drum, upon the electrical in; strumentalities associated therewith, is entirely eliminated, including the wear and tear upon cer- I tain brake parts heretofore utilized for compelling the quick stopping action of the drum for reasons previously stated in respect to the former type of machine to which I have referred as 'embodied in my copending application, said brake parts no longer being used,

In addition to the' foregoing, my improved machine as indicated above employs a much lower power consumption than my previous machine in view of the fact that less electric current is necessary to maintain the drum rotating at'a uniform speed than is requiredfor intermittently bringing the drum to the necessary" speed for each coating operation, wherefore a motor of reduced horse power may be employed in myimproved construction."

Again in th'e'improved machine hereinafter set forth, certain'labor operations are dispensed with in that it is '-unnecessary for the operator to start the machine each time a coatingoperation has to be, performedand-the labor of handling the confectionsiand supervising'theheretofore complicated 'operationsof the former type machine is greatly reduced. w

The result of actual commercial operation of the improved machine set forth herein is to in crease the numberof confections coatedin a pre-f determined period of time to an extent of more thanlOO per cent, so that the machine'will afford a production of coated confections "greater than possibly obtainablel bythe employment of the machines of the construction of "my previous ap plication for patentji aside from the incidental advantages mentioned above as regards the def crease in power consumption or current cost'for operating the motor of the machine, and the'gen= eral reduction in the wear and tear'on' the parts of the machine also previously referred to,'the last involving, of course, a' maintenance expense which it is desirableto avoid K While in my present'described machine the op eration of rotating the confection bodies independently of the drum is converted into'manual operation, the efiiciency of the machine is in noway hampered by reason of the foregoing. In fact, since the operator isalwaysreduired to lift the rack containing the confection bodies to be coated, and place the same so that the confection bodies are in the path of the down-pouring coating material within the drum, such operation is practically combined with that of mounting the confections on the separately rotatable carrier located at one side of the drum, thus quickly imparting, to the confections sub stantially a single-rotation in an'opposite direction to the rotationof the drum, and quickly removing the holder ,or rack with the supported confection bodies coated completely; all involvtatably mounted. 7

A preferred embodiment of a machine comprising'the novel features of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine, looking toward the confection introducing opening of the drum and bringing out the mounting of the rotatable confection holdingbrack'et or carrier and the supporting means therefor.- i

Figure 2 is aside elevation pfmym'achinejwith the drum shown insection and 'illustratingi'the manner of supporting the 'con fe'ction h older of; rack on the rotatable bracket and'gu'idew'h'eel assembly, otherwise called a carrier the flights on the inner peripheral wall 'ofthe drum being shown alongwith' other parts of "themachine, either'directly carried by or associ'atedwith the drum, including the annular shield stationary ad-- jacentto' the opening of the drum, on which shield thecarrier is rotatably supported. *Figure'3 is'a front elevationalview of theretatable bracket assembly or confection'carrier alone; v 3

Figure 4 is aview inside elevation of the stru c ture shown in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged front elevational view of the combined shield and track memb'e'rtn which the rotatable carrier is supported.

Figur'e'fi is a sectional view taken about on the fines-tor Figure 5,looking'in;"'the direction of the arrows! I A machine embodying my invention includes generally a stand'which may bcpmpr isjedof. any suitable fabricated structure including verti calwlegs l',"horizo'ntal bars 2 extending in one direction between the legs I other horizontal bar means 3 extending in a transverse direction toj the bars "2, substantially vertical braces 4 x; tending upwardly from the "front legs 1, and forwardly and upwardly inclined braces 5168,6 ing from the rear legs I upwardly and forwardly so as/to cross-the front legs I so thatbeyond the latterthe braces 5 are rigidly "connected to the.:upper'ends of the'bracesfll i The top 601 the stand is adapted tosupport' any conventional I type of motor I; the, driving shaft of which is connected to and supports partly the rotatable drum "8 which is circular in form and the outer periphery of which is additionally supported to rotate on rollers ll l sup ported 'by'the horizontal bars-2'1whichfextend from the front to the rearporlt ions'of the stand,

To facilitate the cleansing of the apparatus and compliance with sanitary regulations regarde ing machines for processing. food. products, the drum 8 is made of sectional construction in that the b ody of the drum includes .the peripheral Wall and annular front wall Ba ;formed with a large opening 8b therein, while the rearend of the drum is made up of a plate} detachably secured to a flange extending .radia1ly from the rear end of the peripheral Wall. of the drum, by

means -of "a 1 plurality of escrew bolts 8a. it-he 'metorshaft l l 'enters a bearing member 2::ion the outerface' of the detachable rearendor plate -'9 of the drum, and the --'shaft:1is 'l-fixe'd :to the bearing member I2 by any suitable means desirably; employed for the "purpose.

thednnerside of "the 'peripheral w all of the "drum -8 are'secured a plurality of blades :or flights I-3 disposed at intervals over-such periph -ery, "these blades -being adapted -towengage .ithe -'granular coating material em'place'd in tlierdrum *8 preliminary to putting my machine in opera tion. *AdjaCent to the opening 8b, ismount'e'd ae unitWhihcomprises a*combinedsshield and chute H; at the outerend of -which is located a track l5--'in"-the form of a fiat plate attached ntoith'e adjacent peripheral edge 'o'f said shield l4."-The shield "14 is -of a construction such as to'ireally provide a downwardly: and inwardly inclined annular'chutemf very large diameter, and 'slightly less than the diameter of the opening Bb inYJthe zdrumi *Thus'any granular material which may be ejected from the drum through the-opening '8?) during the coating operation while the-drum iS-eIeVating-and spilling downwardly the I coating material therein will 'flow back into the :drum.

As "seen best in Figures 1 to 4- of the drawings, the'shield or chute l-4 with its combined "track member Idis supportd by means of horizontal members or arms I 6= which are mountedon'eand rigidly attached tothe upper ends of -thei inclined braces -5 atoppositesides of:the machine. :The inner ends of thearms i=6 are welded or otherwise'a'ttached to'the outer face ofthe track unem- -ber 'orring member l 5 on the shield M. "The arms l6 are bolted at H'to the outersections lfia 'thereof that are attached to the braces 5. Thus,'when it is desired to take'the machine apart, as for cleansing operatiomit is'only necessary to remove the'bolts l'! and theshi'eld M and its track I5 as a unit may be removed from the "stand along with a rotatable carrier:supported upon this said unit, which "Will'now Jb'e described.

"The-rotatable carrier above referred to isadesigned "to support the confections vvhichearer-to becoated. These confections are of the type, Las -primarily intended *for use with any coating machine; wherein the confectionbodies= ascseen in Figure2 and designated 18, are carried-inn sti'cks'I-9. Such confections are generallydknown as stick confections, andthey are handled in'ithe ice cream factory afterthe sticks are frozen into vthe confection bodies bymeans of -whatiisiiknown as" a' stick holder or rack. This rack, in my drawingspis designated 20, and is of thetypeiwhich is shown by Anderson Patent No.2;232,I96 issued February 18, 1941. Confection 'hol'ding-lraokspr holders of the type referred to have -been used "for many years prior to my invention in'lice cream factories manufacturing stick-confections, and I do not make any claim for-thesaidxack orholder as apart of my invention.' Thekrconfection holder or rack 20 is, of a type inzwhich the handles or sticks of the 'confectionr.are -"se cured'before the freezing of the latter; 'Th'e con- *fection holder 20 is insertedin and-supported by the combined shield 'and track 'l 4-'-li5."';It will be observed from Figures 3 and 4thatthe rack "carrier consists of an approximately-rec tangular frame 2| provided withan opening Q2 therein of rectangular shape andof'asize such as to readily receive the rectangularshaped stick confectionholder 2D. The stick confection inol der 20- is mounted-upon the carrier 2 I -'by simply troducmgxthefframeiof thezconfectionjiolderfi0 intofafframe1memb'er323aextendingainwardly from 'the openingZZ ofcthezcarr-ieriframe Zlzand against the inner sides of "which iframe the ..sides of the frame i. of' the' holder 2:0 crest, .after ;.the ..manner seen in lF-igure 2-2 wherein :the stick confection holder or'rrackris mounted in placeronthe carrier 'framel'l. l v

- The carrier frame 321' is fdesigned :to rotate :on the track member-.15 :o'fathe shield .anditrack unit, and afort-this purpose PIlBmPIOYZ a plurality of :arms 24, 25,: andJ2 6 Al0cated at spaced :po'ints .Jonathe frame-2 lrand supportingion:their outerxends"the grooved :rol-lers =or wheels r 21. The taxes :of "the several wheels :21 flare-{disposed upon :the .arc :of a -='.circle: Jvvhich zconcentrie with 1 the opening through the ringlike itracktrnember l5 and grooved portions ofl'the wheels 21 receive the .inner peripheral ed'ge of fthe :tra'ck l 5 so that the :carrier Z-Ivmay' 'be 'freely-rotatedgupon the combined shield and track 14- 315. "The-arm :25, carrying oneef the wheels ll, is made :.:-somewhat longer than the varnis flxand ifi so thatwthe Wheel hearing portion o'fthe arm'r26 may :be extended to provide a hand crank :28 adapted 'to be grasped by ian 'operator 'ito eifect free rotation of the carrier 2! relatively' to i-the'itrack 135 .=supporting .the same. The "roller; 1 .on :the arm '26 ..is prevented from; detachment ifrom the arm by-any asuitable meansaiandthe rollers 2'1*on-rthe:'arm;"24-;and 25 are also held in :place against detachment from the arms which *support the same.

For the convenienoe' o'ffithe operator, .who: usually stands in front of Ythe :machine -tadjacent to the drum' B,= :one of*the rarmzmembers Ilia carries a switch unitihaving a ,motor starting button 2.9 and a inotorastopping .button 30.

' i'Ihe :operation of my ma'chine .as above set forth will nowheadescribed.

1 Ice cream e'stick 'confections orzthe like, such as -those: designed 1 to 'be coated 1 as 'to the confection bodies means: of: my :machine, are usually made "by employingrmolds, :which mold the individual confection :bodies insgroups or :sets of twenty-four each, r the estioksk or handles of. each of the confection bodies being attached'thereto by 'congelation. The confections are-released from lthe moldin :the :ordinary manner .by, lemploying the stick 'rack or confection.- holder 20 of the type of thefAnderson patentpreviously referredto,the:twentyefounconfections being lifted out of the moldfandrthen manipulated.

" ThBLCOIlfGCtiOII :holdernorvrack Z-D With-handles or s-ticks-co'f theiconfections of .axgroup which .is to beacoated. clamped :thereto :by the .actionof 'themechanica'lspartsof'the said holderZE), is .used to-llift therconfections 1fromtthe :mold or composite mold llnitrin' -whichnthey are made, and conveythe :confections to a bath which includes an adhesivesdip. 'Thexconfectionlbodies are then dipped .101 :su'bmerged Lin asaid bath momentarily, lifted :therefrom,-;andr are ready to be :placed in the cnatingrmachinerwhile ithe dzcumt of the:1atter is rotating, thawing :ipreyiously been supplied with e, iconsiderablezquantity of granular material-afar coatin spurposesusuch as nut "meats, coconut," ortthelike. .The:.operator having :vpreviously -started the drum 8 0f :the machine into rotation by-st ar ting the motor "L the machine is maintained with the drum in I constant or continuousrotationfor thewhole period of the'many hoating operations that are to be perf ormed on the various groups' o'f confections placed in':the carrier zl "The continuous rotation of *the-drum r75 wwroduces aiconstant nniform.rshovvier sof athe coating material from the upper-portion of the drum, off of the flights |3,'and down toward the central space within the drum. The operator now places the confection holder 20 in the carrier frame or unit 2| after the manner shown in Figure 1, so that the confection bodies as seen in Figure 2 are in the path of the down showering coating material. Thereupon, the operator, by grasping the handle 28, will impart to the carrier 2| a rotatable movement. If the drum is rotating counterclockwise, the carrier 2| with the confection holder 20 and the confections supported thereby will be revolved clockwise or against the stream of down-pouring coating materials. I have found in the commercial machine embodying the construction of my invention as set up herein that a single revolution of the carrier frame 2| and the supported confections, requiring less than two seconds of time, will accomplish the coating operation. Immediately upon completion of the rotating movement of the carrier 2| with theconfections supported thereon, the operator will remove the holder 20 from the carrier 2|, and thereupon the confections are ready to bag and store for sale.

It will be obvious that the construction of the shield I4 is such that any material falling on the upper peripheral portion of the same will be defiected inwardly toward the central vertical plane of the drum, and likewise any of the coating material that may be splattered onto the lower peripheral portion of said shield will be deflected into the then bottom portion of the drum as the latter continuously rotates. There will be no loss of material for use for-coating purposes under the above conditions, and material used up may be replenished by simpl charging the drum through the opening 22 of the carrier frame 2| while the latter remains stationary.

As fast as the operator can mount groups of confections supported by the holders 20 on the carrier 2|, give the frame one rotation, and remove the same, the coating operations will be consecutively performed incident to the continuous rotation of the drum 8, in a manner that will be obvious.

The drum 8 does not have to be stopped in order to dispose the: confections in the range of the falling shower of coating material handled in the drum because the carrier means 2| is always ready to receive a fresh group of confections supported on one of the holders 20 due to the mounting of the carrier 2| separately from the drum so as to operate independently of the latter.

As seen best in Figures 1 and 2, a drip pan 3| is supported on the forward ends of the forwardly and rearwardly extending horizontal bars 2 of the stand frame. This pan is customarily employed to catch any drippings of the adhesive dip substance that is applied to the confection bodies previous to their introduction into the drum of the machine for the coating operation.

On the inner face of the detachable closed end plate 9 for drum 8 there are provided deflector blades 32, which, during the rotation of the drum, tend to deflect the down-falling shower of coating material toward the inner end of the confection bodies |8 as seen'in Figure 2, so as to ensure the coating of said end portions.

It will be apparent, by reason of the fact that the drum 8 in operation is driven at comparatively high speed and is maintained at such speed uniformly throughout the use of the machine in the various consecutive coating operations, that this enables the coating material tov be projected directly onto the confection bodies positioned for receiving same to become adhered thereto while precipitated against the said confection bodies in the form of a continuous turbulent shower. The foregoing operation has been found very advantageous as distinguished from that of my previous machine of my identified application wherein the relatively slow rotation of the drum enables the coating material to slide off the flights or blades and gravitate to a large extent at one side of the confection bodies instead of being projected directly against these bodies under all conditions of the rotative action of the drum in acting upon the said coatin material. Under these conditions, of course, the confection bodies do not'have to remain in the drum in the path of the coating material except for the very short time, approxi mately two seconds, incidental to the operation of the carrier making approximately a single revolution with the confection-bodies supported thereon.

In order to enable demounting of the carrier of Figure 3 from the circular track IS with the periphery of which the grooved wheels 21 normally interlockingly engage for rotation of the carrier on said circular track, the carrier frame 2| is of a resilient construction whereby the opposite sides of the frame 2| are yieldable relative to one another. It will be noted that the arm 26 is connected to the frame 2| about midway be.- tween the ends of one of the longer sides of said frame, and, as above stated, the axes of the several wheels 21 are normally disposed upon the arc of a circle which is concentric with the opening through the ring-like track member l5, so that the grooves of the rollers 2'! will be normally interlocked with the inner periphery of the track 15 to run on said track for rotation of the carrier frame 2| relative thereto. I

Because of the resilient construction of the carrier frame 2| enabling the sides thereof to yield out of normal position, when it is desired to demount the carrier frame 2| from the circular track I5, it is only necessary for the operator to grasp the handle 28 and apply pressure thereon radially inwardly of the track I5, causing the sides of the frame 2| to which the arm 26 is con-.- nected to yield inwardly in like manner sufiiciently to permit disengagement of the wheel 21 carried by the arm 25 from its interlocked connection with the periphery of the track l5, whereupon the other wheel 21 ma be released from interlocked connection with the track l5 for demounting the carrier from said track.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letter Patent of the United States, is:

1. In a machine of the class described, in combination, a coating drum rotatable about a horizontal axis and provided at an end thereof with a confection introducing opening, a'inotor operatively connected to the drum for continuously rotating the same, means in the drum to engage coating material and elevate and spill the same downwardly within the drum, a stationary circular track mounted adjacent to the open end of the drum, a confection carrier comprising a frame, bearing means between said frame and the said track comprising wheels carried by the frame and having peripheral grooves receiving the track, a confection rack adapted to support confections and mounted in the frame to hold the confections in a position in the path of the downspilling coating material, means to rotate the car 7 rier on said track combined with a shield sur;

9 rounding the carrier and located between the carrier and the drum and extending downwardly into the opening of the drum to cause down-spilling coating material received thereon to flow to the bottom of the drum, and means connecting the track with said shield to support the track in position.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1 combined with arms extending outwardly from the carrier frame and each having one of said wheels on its outer end, one of said arms being extended at its wheel end to provide a handle constituting manual means to rotate the carrier.

3. In a machine of the class described, in combination, a support, means on the support to ele- Wife and spill coating material in a predetermined path of movement, a stationary circular track juxtaposed to said elevating means, a confection carrier comprising a frame adapted to receive a rack to support confections thereon in the path of the down-spillin coating material, arms connected to the frame and ofistanding therefrom, a wheel rotatably mounted on the outer end of each arm, said wheels normally interlocking with said track to run thereon for rotation of the carrier on the track, the carrier frame being resilient to permit one of the arms to yield radially inwardly of the periphery of said track for disengaging therefrom the wheel carried by said latter arm for demounting the carrier from the track.

4. In a coating machine, in combination, a supporting frame, a coating drum rotatable about a horizontal axis on the frame, and provided with a confection introducing opening at an end thereof, means in the drum carried thereby to engage, elevate and spill downward coating material within the drum, a motor connected to rotate the drum, a circular track mounted adjacent the open end of the drum, a confection carrier frame, a confection holding rack mounted in the carrier frame, bearing means between the carrier frame and the track, and a stationary shield surroundin the carrier frame and extending into the drum through saidopening, the bottom of the shield inclining downwardly toward the drum to cause material passing out of thedrum opening to pass back into the drum.

EDWIN J. O'I'KEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,482,473 Lord at al Feb. 5, 1924 2,248,643 Rasmusson July 8, 1941 2,450,661 Herrmann Oct. 5, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 476,261 Great Britain Dec. 6, 1937 

